The present invention relates to a communication service wherein a first communication carrier establishes a virtual private line for a second, typically smaller communication carrier.
In the long distance communication services market, a variety of small long distance carriers have entered the market following the decentralization of the United States communication infrastructure. These smaller carriers typically own and maintain few communication switches relative to the larger carriers. Indeed, a small long distance carrier may provide long distance services with even a single switch.
A simplified model of the public switched telephone network is shown in FIG. 1. The public switched telephone network actually is an integrated combination of a variety of communication networks. Local Exchange Carriers ("LECS") typically provide regional communication services to telephone subscribers. The LEC provides communication equipment that connects directly to the subscribers'telephone equipment. Long distance carriers route calls from one LEC to another. Because the long distance carrier interconnects LECS, it is referred to as an Inter Exchange Carrier ("IXC"). In practice, there are several IXCS that provide long distance carrier services. Each IXC provides a physical connection from its network to each LEC that the IXC serves.
To conform to the model shown in FIG. 1, a small IXC having only a small number of switches would provide physical connections to each LEC that it serves. The small IXC would do so by providing a separate optical or electrical cable, such as a T1 trunk, to carry communication traffic between its switch and a switch in the LEC. Installation and maintenance of such cables is expensive, particularly when the cable must connect a switch to a geographically distant LEC.
Maintenance of such cables also possesses a disadvantage due to the fixed capacity of the cables themselves. A single T1 trunk possesses sufficient capacity to serve twenty-four (24) calls. During periods of heavy use, the fixed capacity of the cable may become exhausted even though the switch possesses sufficient capacity to service additional calls. The capacity of the cable limits the number of calls the small IXC could serve from a particular LEC.
To circumvent these problems, the small IXC typically allies itself with a larger IXC. Under such an alliance, requests for long distance services that are meant to be serviced by the small IXC are handled, in fact, by the large IXC. The large IXC completes call connections and bills the small IXC. The large IXC may complete call connections without resort to the small IXC's switch.
The routing function is accomplished through use of a Carrier Identification Code ("CIC") . For each call, the telephone subscriber may designate a long distance carrier of choice by identifying a CIC as part of the dialing sequence. For example, laypersons may be familiar with the 1-0-ATT ("10288") dialing prefix to designate AT&T, the assignee of the present invention, as the carrier of choice. Other CIC codes designate other carriers. When a subscriber at an originating LEC designates a small IXC that is not physically connected to the subscriber's LEC, the LEC routes the call to a large IXC that completes the call. The large IXC uses the CIC for billing purposes to charge the small IXC for the connection.
Using the large IXC's service, the small IXC may reduce the number of physical connections made to LECS when the large IXC handles calls originating from LECS to which the small IXC provides no connection. The success of this service has caused small IXCS to abandon the expense of private lines in favor of an alliance with the large IXCS. For a fee, the large IXCS carry all communication traffic of some small IXCS, not just overflow traffic.
The fee charged by the large IXCS reduces revenue earned by the small IXC. To increase their revenue, small IXCS are exhibiting a preference to include their switch(es) in call routing for customers that they serve. They desire that the large IXC route long distance traffic for its customers from an originating LEC to the small IXC's switch as a first leg. To complete the second leg, from the small IXC's switch to a destination LEC, the small IXC may route the call to the same or a different large IXC or may maintain its own physical connection.
There is a need in the art for a communication service among IXCS wherein a first IXC provides a virtual private line for a second, typically smaller, IXC in which the first IXC routes communication from an originating LEC to the second IXC's network.